Author

Degree Name

MS (Master of Science)

Program

Communicative Disorders

Date of Award

5-2016

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Neina Ferguson, Brenda Louw

Committee Members

Saravanan Elangovan

Abstract

Preterm infants have multiple health complications due to their underdeveloped neurological systems. Bottle-feeding difficulties are one complication that leads to pulmonary illness secondary to aspiration. Preterm infants exhibit clinical markers when experiencing distress during bottle-feeding. Training caregivers to identify clinical markers reduces the risk for aspiration. Simulation training provides a safe learning environment without harming patients. Twenty-two speech-language pathology and pre-requisite students divided into two simulation groups, video-simulation (N=12) and in-vivo simulation (N=10), were trained to document clinical markers of distress exhibited by preterm infants and make clinical judgments about bottle-feeding. Students rated their levels of anxiety during simulation training. Results revealed that students trained using video-simulation performed with higher clinical judgment scores and lower anxiety levels than students who received in-vivo training. Students’ knowledge of and ability to identify distress markers in preterm infants during bottle-feeding significantly improved after training in both groups without group differences.